Known resection devices have been employed to staple and cut tissue surrounding a lesion site to remove lesions from patients' bodies. A known resection device for performing resection procedures endoscopically through naturally occurring body orifices has included a flexible portion extending from an operating end, or distal end, of the device, which is inserted into the patient's body, to a control end, or proximal end, of the device, which remains outside of the patient's body. The control end may include a control handle which may be manipulated to control cutting and stapling apparatuses of the device.
In order to maintain flexibility of that portion of the device extending between the control handle and the distal end, these resection devices have employed flexible drive shafts to transmit an actuating force from the control handle to the distal end of the device. However, as such a flexible drive shaft is rotated in the first direction to operate the stapling mechanism, torsional energy is stored therein. When the force driving the drive shaft in the first direction is removed, the stored torsional energy may urge the drive shaft to rotate in the second direction, actuating the cutting mechanism, before such a rotation is desired.